Within the United States, many states have enacted legislation to permit lotteries. Lotteries include a variety of games that, for a while, were popular and successful. A lottery is recognized as a form of gambling or gaming, allowing players to wager on the chance to win a valuable prize. In a typical lottery, players buy tickets with a series of characters or numbers from authorized vendors at fixed prices. Neither the characters nor numbers on the tickets generate inherent excitement. At a subsequent drawing, winning characters or numbers are selected on an unpredictable and random basis for comparison with the players' characters and numbers. Players who satisfy the requisite matching of characters or numbers win prizes.
In the familiar and typical lottery process, a computer generates a randomized prize data stream which includes a limited number of win/lose outcomes. Each outcome is assigned to a lottery ticket, and each ticket contains one or more game chances, which yield the assigned outcome. A player cannot change the ticket outcome. A player merely scratches off certain areas of the ticket in accordance with rules of the game to reveal the outcome, or waits until the computer-generated outcome is announced at some future date. Typically, a player purchases a lottery ticket located in stores that have apparatus for entering the choices of a player. The apparatus is generally in electronic communication with a central computer. A player may mark the characters or numbers he wishes to enter as the players' choices on a computer-scannable or computer-readable entry form. The player pays a fee, a clerk inserts the ticket into the apparatus, and the information is recorded in the central computer. After wagering has been closed, a variety of methods are used to determine the winning range of numbers or characters: bouncing balls with numbers written on the balls, and computer driven selection processes, are the most common.
Limitations on the current lottery approaches have become evident.
Lottery systems currently in effect generate no inherent enthusiasm by or on the part of the players. Lottery outcomes are not decided by real-world events, but rather by sterile computer programs, or by a tub of ping-pong balls. There is nothing for a player to watch or cheer for. Accordingly, many state-operated lotteries have reached market saturation, if not stagnation.
The real world presents a wide range of events that enthusiasts would like to wager on. A non-exclusive listing of such of real-world events includes political elections, racing events such as automobile races, motorcycle races, horse races, and similar events, as well as a wide range of sporting events. Given the fascination of the American public for theater and movies, even the Academy Awards and the Oscar presentations present an opportunity for wagering. Real-world events add drama and interest not achieved through typical lottery systems or networks.
Current lotteries fail to attract enthusiasts for the frequent and highly publicized events in the sporting world, the political world, or the world in general. A large, extant, already existing but untapped audience base exists for a number of sporting events, including as a non-exclusive example, automobile racing. National and worldwide media coverage is provided for such events. Thus, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series is a racing model that holds great potential as a venue for a more modern wagering process through a lottery system.
Enthusiasts would become players in a lottery because they are dramatically interested in the real world outcomes of events of interest to them. For example, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series begins in mid-February with the Daytona 500 Race, and continues almost every weekend until thirty-six or more races are completed throughout the United States. The interest among consumers in NASCAR racing is evident by the extent to which major corporations sponsor race teams and the racing events. In a typical NASCAR race, each race week begins with one or two days of timed laps that are conducted until the fastest 43 cars qualify for the actual or subsequent race. Qualifying laps end about forty-eight hours before the actual race. The result is a major sporting spectacle, frequently featuring 150,000 people in attendance, while perhaps five million households watch on television, and millions worldwide listen on radio. Significantly, NASCAR features more corporate sponsors among the Fortune 500 companies than any other sport. Fan support among those interested in NASCAR racing is legendary. Presently, NASCAR boasts forty million fans. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series is the second highest rated regular season sport on television.
Lotteries following the conventional dreary mode of wagering are losing the hoped-for-income generating status that state governments anticipated. As excitement has waned, lottery income has decreased. Competition for entertainment and gaming dollars is on the increase.
Lottery players are older, and lotteries are not attracting younger players. On the other hand, using just one of the competitions for which the present invention is useful, NASCAR demographics indicate that 32% of NASCAR fans are 18-34 years of age, and 26% are between 35-44 years of age. Brand loyalty among those fans is intense. These demographics, statistics and real-world facts suggest a way to use the present invention to breathe new life and entertainment into lotteries in participating states.
As indicated, a previously unaddressed need exists in the industry for a new, useful and improved method for conducting wagers through a lottery system that is capable of rejuvenating enthusiasm for lotteries in general. Particularly, there is a significant need for a method and system that allows enthusiasts for one or more competitions to become lottery players who wager on real-world or actual events and competitions. The present invention for a method for lottery wagering on actual events addresses these needs, and is useful for providing a relevant and entertaining form of wagering, whereby the player can incorporate his or her insight, knowledge, experience and interest into the gaming activity.
The advantages, objects and features of the present invention for such a method and system will become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the following description, drawing figures and appended claims.